After making a big screen splash as the tragic heartthrob Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, it took a 108-year-old vampire trapped in the body of a stunningly handsome 17-year-old high schooler to set Robert Pattinson on the road to superstardom in the Twilight Saga, with the fifth film coming out in November.
And, although playing Edward Cullen hasn't allowed Rob to show off the acting chops many suspect are lurking beneath that lost boy exterior, with a slew of darker, more interesting projects on the horizon, it looks like the young Brit is finally gaining the career traction it could take to set him on the road to Christian Bale-dom (minus the sweary episodes)...
Darker roles
Twisted drama, Bel Ami, which hits UAE cinemas this week, sees Rob take on the complex role of social climbing charmer, Georges Duroy, showcasing a wider range of emotions than Edward Cullen's perma-brood. But it is May release Cosmopolis that really looks set to ruin his image for his tween followers.
Directed by A History Of Violence helmer David Cronenberg, and based on the cult novel by Don De Lillo, Rob stars alongside Paul Giamatti and Juliette Binoche in the day-in- the-life tale about Eric Parker, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire. Touching upon issues of greed, power, and infidelity, the often surreal film left Pattinson admitting he was worried he would "ruin" the movie, but that working with Cronenberg changed his approach to his career.
"I used to doubt myself," he revealed. "When I was reading a script, I would wonder if I was worth the role. Now, I tell myself, ‘**** it! If they're ready to hire me, go for it.'"
Future Psycho?
Rumoured to be the frontrunner to take on the role of Patrick Bateman in the remake of American Psycho, tween fiction fans are excited at the buzz that Rob's being considered for the part of the delicious yet troubled Finnick Odair in the second film from The Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. And the actor has also recently been cast in Mission: Blacklist as Eric Maddox, the US military interrogator who led the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein, before turning badboy in Australian outback-based flick, The Rover alongside Guy Pearce.
"Rob's decision to play the villain is a brilliant move," says casting guru Dorin Oder. "Vindictive roles catapult actors into the stratosphere. Think Christian Bale in American Psycho and Ryan Gosling in Drive. Rob's handpicking roles that will define his range as an actor. He'll one day be an Oscar contender."
